A fishing reel configured to forwardly release a fishing line includes a reel unit, a spool rotatably supported by the reel unit, an electric power generator that generates an electric power upon a rotation of the spool, an electric component including a controller, an overvoltage protection circuit, and a bypass circuit. The controller operates using the electric power generated by the electric power generator. The overvoltage protection circuit is electrically connected to the electric power generator and the electric component, the overvoltage protection circuit limits a voltage of the electric power output from the electric power generator to a predetermined magnitude. The bypass circuit supplies the electric power generated by the electric power generator to the electric component by bypassing the overvoltage protection circuit upon a determination that the voltage of the electric power generated by the electric power is less than or equal to a predetermined value.